Alex Salmond and his Tartan Tories

[David Johnson]

No reply from Fat Mick to my post showing that the Tartan Tories, the SNP allowing the right of the Scottish parliament to vary income tax to fall into abeyance.

This clip shows Labour and Tories etc. smashing John Swinney, the current SNP Chancellor of the Exchequer.



Not only did John Swinney allow the capability to vary income tax up or down by 3p to lapse in 2007, the SNP covered up this decision until they were rumbled in 2010. And it was the SNP decision to do away with the right which Scots had voted for in a referendum without even bothering to tell them.

Not only did the SNP cover it up, they even made out that it was still available by talking about introducing a local income tax when they must have known that they did not have the system to introduce it.

Here the leader of the Tartan Tories refuses to answer questions about whether he will reintroduce the 50p tax rate for high earners if there is a Yes vote.



As far as I am aware the only tax the leader of the Tartan Tories has actually got the detail on is a reduction by 3p in the corporation rate. That will do wonders for the poor in Scotland eh?

So the offer to the rest of the UK is not very "friendly" is it? We want to join a currency union with the UK in which you underwrite our liabilities of lender of last resort. We want to reduce corporation tax so we can try and tempt UK businesses to move to an independent Scotland with this tax cut. If the people of the UK don't do what we say, we will default on our liabilities"

Is Salmond bonkers?

[max_tranmere]

There's always been trouble-at-the-top in the SNP. You may remember that John Swinney was briefly the leader of the party a few years ago, Salmond was leader before him and then subsequently. Swinney had problems similar to what Iain Duncan Smith did when he was briefly leader of the Tories in Westminster, numerous people in the party did everything they could to bring him down, by starting whispering campaigns against him and so on. If I remember rightly there were 12 people in the SNP, in quite senior and mid-ranking positions in the party, who tried to bring him down - and they succeeded. So what John Swinney does now as Finance minister will never go as smoothly as it might do if another SNP figure was in the job because there are people in the organisation, who are quite powerful and well connected, who don't like him. It is not a happy ship the SNP.

[David Johnson]

Didn't Nicola Sturgeon, the current Deputy First Minister also stand against Salmond. I suspect if the SNP lose the independence vote, Salmond might well be feeling something sharp between his shoulder blades.

Couldn't believe one of the clips where an SNP member tries to explain why they never used the right to put up income tax - "it's a very regressive tax".

This is bollocks. How can income tax rises be regressive? A progressive tax is one that places the biggest burden on those most able to pay. A regressive tax does the opposite.

VAT is a regressive tax We all pay the same VAT rate for fuel to get to work. If you say we are going to introduce a 3p rise in the income tax rate for the richest in society that is progressive because it places the biggest burden on those with the dosh.

As far as I can make out the SNP is a centre right party, a bit like the Tories in their "hug a hoodie", we are going to be the greenest government ever, mode.

[fatmick]

David, you are becoming a parody of yourself. You certainly should listen to your second link before you claim he is avoiding the question. He clearly says he we would recommend voting against the cut like the TWO labour MP's who bothered their arse to get out the bars and vote!

[fatmick]

Sorry for the delay in replying,,,I am a bit busy living and only appear on this forum occasionally.xxx

[David Johnson]

Mick,

Before you start patronising people it would probably be a good idea if you had at least some idea what you are talking about.

You clearly don't and frankly I can't be arsed to put you right other than to say this is what the point I am making is actually about.

[max_tranmere]

Not sure if Nicola Sturgeon stood against Alex Salmond, she may have done. I can see Salmond going if or rather when the Referendum in September is lost. Sturgeon's fingerprints are all over it too, she is as deeply associated with it as Salmond is, so she may have to go as well. Her position and authority will be heavily weakened as a result of the Referendum being lost. I can picture, one day after the loss, Salmond doing one of those 'emotional' speeches - the sort of thing American politicians specialise in - where they pretend to cry and make sure to include lots of long pauses as if to suggest 'the emotions are really getting to me' etc. It's strange because he'll be talking like someone who didn't get what he and the public wanted, in reality it will have been rejected by the public so his inevitable speech will not chime with people's wants at all. Phrases like "we tried, we will get there one day" etc - the reason they won't have got there this year is because it wasn't wanted. A future SNP leader will probably have another Referendum in about 20 years time and I'm sure that'll be defeated too.

[fatmick]

Sorry for the delay in replying.

Still voting yes!

[william]

The vote for yes ? think that scotland will vote yes - its leading that way and then well things will change indeed....

[David Johnson]

Like I said, I can't be arsed. You seem happy enough with your almost total lack of understanding of the implications of independence.

Ignorance is, indeed, bliss.